Mason

"When need to go home and-"

"Are you insane!?"

"-talk with Mom and Dad! Reese we have to!"

Reese's teeth shined as she bunched a fist full of hair. Her new ears were pressed against her face. "We cannot! They will be looking for us and the first place they will go is to our house!"

"Reese we have no money, no food, no water, and hell we are wearing pajamas with no shoes! I can feel a splinter stabbing me in my right foot. This is greater than we can handle on our own!"

"No Mason, going home is suicide. We have to." Reese's hand movements jerked to her face. She staggered back as she clutched her head, her knees hitting the ground.

I hesitantly stepped forward, calling her name, "Reese? Hey, it's going to be alright. Reese?"

Trembles came from her before her hands slid from her head to the back of her head. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her nostrils flared as she breathed heavily. I fell to her side, trying to assess where the pain was coming from.

PAIN. HEAD.

A voice. A soft feminine voice echoed around me, but the only person in pain was Reese. I could feel the pressure building around me as Reese grabbed the ground, her mouth gaping in a silent scream. A throbbing sensation filled my head, and I clenched my teeth to try and block out the pain.

"Reese! You need to listen to me. Listen to my voice!" I heaved out. I laid my hand against her shoulder, only for it to fall back to the ground. Being this close to her, whatever was causing this, also radiated to me. My body began to feel limp, and I nearly doubled over, my hand catching the ground.

CANT. HURTS.

Her eyes squinted open, and she reached for a large rock. Before I could react, she slammed it against her head and fell limp. I gasped for air as the pain vanished into nothing. My body fell forward as I breathed while staring at Reese's head. Red blood oozed out of her forehead, but not enough to be severe. Her breaths had evened out to a steady and regular pace; however, I had not moved. She knocked herself out for the two of us.

With a deep breath, I bent down and picked her up. Surprisingly heavy for someone her size, not that I would ever tell her that I could not pick her up. She would tease me for the rest of my life. With quick steps, I trampled back through the woods.

"Don't worry Reeses. Mom will know what to do."

***

"Mason Hugh Lee, where in- Sunja?!" My mother breathed out at the sight of my sister limp in my arms. Most of the blood had stopped, but she remained unconscious despite the bumpy trek. She should have awakened by now. Mom rushed over with a wet rag and cleaned the blood from her face after I laid her down.

"Mom," I stated softly, breaking her from her stressed and frantic look. She softened her strokes on the wound while reaching her other hand out to me. Smiling sadly, I placed my hand in hers, and she squeezed it out of reassurance; whether it was for me or her, I was not sure.

"Mason, your skin. It's bumpy but smooth? And Reese with these ears," she held my hand tightly as I peered at my arm. I guess Reese was not the only one who changed. My eyes looked back up to her, and she asked, "What happened?"

I contemplated telling her just how much happened. The Overseer had not said anything about keeping all this a secret, but Reese was in this as much as I was. Whether she wanted to be a part of it or not, we at least needed to survive. Firstly, I wanted to discuss it with her alone before I said anything. Letting go of our conjoined hands, I rested them on the back of the couch. With lowered eyes, I said, "Last night, I saw a glowing light. Reese saw it too. We followed it out back and to the woods that were just a mile away. There it entered us and we woke up like this."

My mother's eyes furrowed at me. She brushed back her short brown hair and said, "And what of your sister? And why the hell did you two follow this 'strange light'? You could have gotten killed! You could have woken us up and we would have handled it. Now you two look like... like that! And if anyone saw- oh gosh. If they saw-"

A flash of anger went through me. "If they saw us looking like freaks? Reese already feels like it and I don't need other opinions, especially yours, making me or her feel worse. And what exactly would you have done? We did not exactly have a choice, it just commanded us to go!"

"I don't know. We would have done something!" she exclaimed. We glared at one another before she slowly ease out of anger. I rubbed my arms to shake off the anger while my mom closed her eyes. In a gentle tone, she said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You are both my children, regardless of... the animal parts. I called out today. When you had not come down for school, I began to worry. Kwan had said he would go check but when he told me neither you nor Reese were there, I panicked. I thought they had taken you just like Mom."

My eyes softened, and I walked around the couch to pull her into a hug. "It's okay now. We are safe. You said you were worried they had taken us, why? They would not have known unless they found out."

Mom pulled to her arm's length and said, "They are taking the kids now, Mason. Regardless if they've turned or not."

"What?! When?"

"In the last hours that you were away. They called Kwan in about an hour ago, but the governor has given permission for that organization to remove any mutant. They have been labeled as a threat to society. TSAC has claimed that the gene is genetic but only skips a generation before revealing itself. With my mother being present with the gene, it is only likely that you would be present with the gene as well."

"Does that mean they will be coming here next? And what of cousin Edward, he's only seven?"

Mom bent down to kiss the sleeping girl, the blood gone, but a small gash needed attention. "Unsure, but we will have to ease your father into this. He has been calling all day for an update and checking all data records for you two. I've never seen him in this much of a panic before, not even on our wedding day. Also, I'll need you to get bags packed, checks are tomorrow morning so we need to be long gone by then."

I followed her through the house as she went to grab the medicine. However, she began to throw all the medication she could into a small bag. "Wait, you're being serious about leaving? Like everything? What about your job? Mom, you spent years getting your masters to work as an engineer. Is there no way to do both? I don't want you to lose everything you worked for?"

A loving hand stroked my cheek. "Mason, no job is worth losing you two over. I'd rather you two be next to me than some organization doing who knows what to my babies. Now go pack your backpack with clothes. We only got a few hours." With that, she rushed down the stairs to tend to Reese.

***

Reese flopped back against the couch with an ice pack resting against her face. "Hurts like a bitch."

I explained that Reese had tripped and fallen over a log, smacking her head against a rock. It was not entirely true, but Mom had bought it... for now. Reese, on the other hand, did not enjoy being called a 'clumsy girl' but did not rebut my lie with a response.

"Language, young lady. Somedays I swear that-" Mom's blabber followed her to the kitchen as she began packing non-perishables. I collapsed in the seat next to Reese, avoiding sitting on her outstretched legs this time. She was in enough pain at the moment.

"We need to talk about... you know," I whispered.

"No shit. You brought us here, despite me saying we shouldn't come here." She waved towards the doorway that was near the kitchen.

"You smashed a rock against your skull, R!" I signed, my face showing my concern which softened her expression. "I did not know where else to go."

She fiddled with the ice pack on her lap. The wound had a big bandage with little hearts and peace signs. In the area where the bandage did not cover, I could see some black and purple bruising starting to form.

"Yeah, well... I wish you thought harder or I don't know... left me."

Our mother entered the room and glanced between the two of us. "Everything alright? It was quite quiet and the two of you are always up to no good when silent."

Reese waved off her concern. "All fine."

"When is dad coming home?" I asked to change the subject.

She glanced at her phone. "Anytime. You two have everything you need? We won't be coming back."

The two of us nodded right as the door opened. "I got your text. I came as fast as I could. Is everything alright? The kids?"

Reese sunk further into the couch to avoid her father's gaze as it swept the room. Glancing at her, she signaled for me to look away from her. My father glanced between my mother and me, and while it was a wave of relief to see me, I knew he was looking for his daughter.

"Sunja? Where is she?"

My mother set his gear down and closed the door behind him. With a gentle hand on his forearm, she said, "She is okay." He sighed in relief and nodded. "But, Honey, the kids need some help. They're a little different than when we last saw them."

His eyebrow raised at her before he stalked towards me to assess. However, the statement only confused him. "Nothing has changed with our boy, Dear. A little dirt smeared on him but that never hurt anyone." He ruffled my brown hair, but my eyes drifted to my little sister. He did the same. Mom was right there behind him with a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"They both are."

Reese pulled a pillow against herself, occasionally meeting her father's widened eyes. He pulled himself from my mother and stepped behind the couch. He reached out silently, touching her cheek and then her ears.

"Father."

"My little fox." He bent and scooped her up, just like he always did for us whenever we were scared. Reese squirmed to get out but calmed when he set her down and hugged her. His arm stretched out for us, and I shuffled over to get in. "Oh kiddos, I'm so sorry."

I looked up to see his eyes closed. Wrinkles formed on his forehead, where his eyebrows were tightly knitted together. He leaned his forehead to kiss his wife's hair as she said, "Everything is packed."

"Then we go before the border patrol blocks the roads for the night."

Everyone quickly began to load the SUV. With a grumpy face, Reese slid her beanie on which helped tuck in her large ears. I rolled my sleeves down as I jumped into the car. The engine started, and I looked at the house one last time before turning to Reese. I only hoped that she would understand that we needed our parents to get through this.